Replacing shocks on V8

rafrover wrote,...
Brilliant idea. But how does that relieve the pressure from the shocks though?

The shocks are not under any pressure per se. They will be open commensurate with how the car is sitting. Undo the top nuts, then remove the four bolts securing the plate to the trailing arm, and lower the shock out.

To replace, just open the shock sufficient to pass through the top locating point. Ideally, a friend can then place a nut on whilst you hold things in position down below. You can go it alone if need be, just takes a little bit longer. :wink:

Ron.
 
GRTV8 said:
rafrover said:
The leather seats look tired and a paint job would be great but these are all costly stuff. So will have to wait.

A cheap way to rejuvenate the leather is to get some pure coconut oil and rub it in . Rub it in every time you walk past them .The leather really soaks it up . Do it for about two or three weeks .
I took all my leather [ not this P6] upholstery out and plonked it in the lounge in front of the TV . I rubbed an oiled up cloth into the seats every time the missus looked like giving me a job . Made me look busy .
The leather will tell you when to stop. The leather softened up beautifully and even some of the colour came back [ well I reckon it did] .
Good for your skin and hair too > nice and shiny .
Gerald
ps. good luck getting the missus to agree to car bits in the lounge.

Haha, not a chance mate. Parking this car in the garage is already quite a win for me. :)

Ok good thing is I do hv coconut oil and have been using them on my kids. I'll start using them soon. Just need a good reason why it's always running out in a week as my seats probably need a bucket load.

Have you got a pic of the leather that you had rubbed coconut oil on? Did you have to do any other treatment to it?
 
I had pics of the progression the coconut oil was applied , but can't find the file since my wonderful mac was updated .
I did clean the leather with a low level of citrus household cleaner and a vacuum, just to remove surface dirt esp in the stitching .
But the pics did show an improvement in the overall appearance .
 
vaultsman said:
Well done with the fronts, rear dampers aren't difficult to do.

Remove the rear seat cushions, then the squabs, and you'll see the top mounts for the dampers.
Remove the locknut and nut, then the bush retainer and rubber bush.

Slacken the road wheel nuts and jack up the rear of the car. Support securely on axle stands and remove the wheels.

You'll see the lower end of the damper sits in a plate bolted to the bottom link.
Remove the 4 bolts and spring washers, remove the lower mounting, and remove the damper from the plate.
Fit the lower end of your new damper to the plate.

Jack up the bottom link and guide the top end of the damper into the upper mounting hole.
Refit the lower plate to the bottom link with the 4 bolts and spring washers.

Fit the rubber bush, retainer, nut, and locknut to the top mounting.
Lower the bottom link, and refit the wheels.
Lower the car and refit the seats.
Sorted.

Stan

Hi Stan, your step by step guide has been godsend. Cause I am half way through and it's looking good so far.



Will update when the new shocks are in.
 

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hi guys...a bit stuck at the moment. my new monroes don't come with new sleeves and the old ones have cracked. Also it seems to have come with additional rubber bushings and the the very large washer for monroes look alot smaller and thinner. Any thoughts? Should I reuse the old large washers?
 
Glad the bits have arrived, just looking at that rear end. The top and bottom link bushes do not have a bearing sruface, the twist as the suspension moves up and down is taken up by the rubber. yours looks like they are at or past their limit, I'd move the jack to under the bottom link and raise the assembly till it's roughly level ish. It will also make it easier to get the shock in and lined up.

there isn't anything proprietary about the sleeve. the usual suppliers have them. They are about the same hardness as the clear plastic hose you get from the hardware etc. You can use two pieces, one over the other to make a bush about the right diameter. If you cut them to length after insertion you will have nice flat ends.

Personnally, I'd get both the sleeves and new wide rubbers and use the old large washers. The shocks are small for the weight of the car and the size of the movement and the smaller rubbers can't take the high load for long.
 
mikecoombs said:
Glad the bits have arrived, just looking at that rear end. The top and bottom link bushes do not have a bearing sruface, the twist as the suspension moves up and down is taken up by the rubber. yours looks like they are at or past their limit, I'd move the jack to under the bottom link and raise the assembly till it's roughly level ish. It will also make it easier to get the shock in and lined up.

there isn't anything proprietary about the sleeve. the usual suppliers have them. They are about the same hardness as the clear plastic hose you get from the hardware etc. You can use two pieces, one over the other to make a bush about the right diameter. If you cut them to length after insertion you will have nice flat ends.

Personnally, I'd get both the sleeves and new wide rubbers and use the old large washers. The shocks are small for the weight of the car and the size of the movement and the smaller rubbers can't take the high load for long.

Thanks Mike, exactly what i need to know. OK so are you saying don't use the new rubber bushings that come with the new shocks? find a new rubber bushing that is the same diameter as the old ones? The new rubber bushing is also thicker than the old ones. Thoughts?
 
I realised with the new bushings, both sleeves are not required as the bushings fit snugly to the shaft thus they don't move at the top at the rear seat nor at the bottom plate. So I think all is good. However I don't know what I did wrong as everytime I try to tighten the nuts, the shocks moves with every turn of the rachet. :?
 
rafrover said:
However I don't know what I did wrong as everytime I try to tighten the nuts, the shocks moves with every turn of the rachet. :?

There are two machined flats on the end of the thread....or at least there should be.

Slip the nut on, then hold the threaded shaft stationary with an open-ender while you tighten the nut.
 
Hi Stan, both shocks are in. Mostly happy with it. However I can't say for certain how tight should I tighten both top and bottom nut. They seem to compress the rubber as I tighten and it feels quite tight but I can definitely yank them in some more. Should I or should I not compress the rubber way too much?
 
roverp480 said:
Is there not a hexagon on the end of the stud so that you can hold it still while you tighten the nut?

Yes mate there is and it worked. I managed to tighten it tis way enough to not allow the two parts to rotate. Just wondering how much tighter should I make it. Rubber seem to be very compressed already.
 
You do need to make them very tight. There should be no movement between the metal parts and the rubber. All movement should be in the rubber alone and that should have stiff resistance. The rubbers transmit the shock action to the car so they are pretty heavily loaded. Movement in the rubber should be no lmore than the other (good) rubber bushes on the car as a general guide.
 
mikecoombs said:
You do need to make them very tight. There should be no movement between the metal parts and the rubber. All movement should be in the rubber alone and that should have stiff resistance. The rubbers transmit the shock action to the car so they are pretty heavily loaded. Movement in the rubber should be no lmore than the other (good) rubber bushes on the car as a general guide.

Thx again Mike, you guys have been fantastic. Couldn't have done it without your help. I just tightened the last wheel nut. I make do without the sleeves as the new rubber bushes fit snugly and looks like they are designed not to have additional sleeves as the centre of the two rubber bushes go into the metal plate to keep them from moving. And the more compressed they are the more they seem to go fit inside. Anyone with rear monroes can confirm this?
 
First impression of the monroes after a few mins is that they are still as soft as the original. And to be honest my old rear shocks seem to work and have resistance as do the new Monroes. Not sure if old rear shocks can still be used? They look alot sturdier and fatter than the Monroes too.
 
New shocks that have been stored sideways etc, need to be worked a few times at the full extend of their travel to allow the oil to settle in order to work correctly.
In your case that you already fitted them, you should drive around for quite some time before they will reach their correct stiffness.
 
Demetris said:
New shocks that have been stored sideways etc, need to be worked a few times at the full extend of their travel to allow the oil to settle in order to work correctly.
In your case that you already fitted them, you should drive around for quite some time before they will reach their correct stiffness.

Thx mate, happy to know that. Will be waiting for a better ride sometime soon. Any idea after how many km?
 
rafrover said:
Any idea after how many km?

I don't think that anyone can guess that, but as you may understand it really depends on how "hard" the shocks will work.
In other words it will be sooner on rough roads.
 
Ok so drove her quite a bit and what a difference four new shocks make. Thx everyone for your help in getting my shocks in. Proud moment for me. :)
 
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